Strip material is required for many processes and for forming many products. One important aspect of supplying a strip material to an end use machine for the process or for manufacturing the end product is the packaging of a strip material into a suitable supply.
The supply preferably provides a long length of the strip thus reducing the inconvenience of replacing the supply package with a further package. The strip is preferably supplied in long length in order to avoid the necessity for splices in the strip. The package should not cause damage or distortion of the strip in a manner which prevents or inhibits its use in the end use machine.
One form of package which has been used for many years is that of the pancake roll in which the strip material is rolled in spiral fashion so that each turn of the strip lies directly on top of the previous turn to build up a pancake roll of a maximum diameter which can be achieved while retaining stability. This technique however allows the packaging of a very limited length of material so that replacement of the package is relatively frequent.
Another form of package is a traverse wound spool in which the strip is wound onto a spool while simultaneously the winding point is traversed axially of the pool. Using this technique relatively large spools can be formed thus significantly increasing the length of the strip on the package structure.
However one significant problem which arises is that of handling the package so as to allow it to be moved from the supply location where the package is formed to an end use location at the end use machine including the steps of unloading the package from a winding support stand, handling the package during transportation and storage and loading the package onto an unwind stand at the end use machine. These problems have significantly reduced the maximum size of package which can be formed using this technique. Generally the package is rotated so that it stands on one end during storage and transportation. However it is known to mount packages of this type in a cardboard stand which holds up the core during transportation and storage.
In previous examples, strip material is wound onto a structure having a diameter of the order of four to six feet and up till now this has been the maximum size package which can be accommodated.
Another technique which has been available for many years but which has recently received considerable attention is that of festooning where the strip is folded back and forth into a generally rectangular structure. This technique has considerable advantages in that it allows a relatively long length of the strip to be formed into a single package structure and in addition both ends of the strip are available so that each package can be spliced to a subsequent package for continuous supply of the strip. However some materials cannot accommodate folding or may be compromised by folding so that such materials are not suitable candidates for the festooning process.
The term "strip" used herein is not intended to be limited to any particular type of material and is not intended to be limited to a single layer since the strip may be formed by a number of overlying layers which may or may not be laminated together. The present invention is therefore not material specific although it may have more value in regard to wider and thicker materials where the size of a package structure is relatively large in order to accommodate a suitable length of the material on a single roll.